In order to gain an understanding of what a Film Noir opening scene should be like, it is necessary to understand what is to be expected from a Film Noir opening scene & the included credits. The best way to do this is to analyse the all time best Film Noir blockbusters.
Sunset Boulevard
The Sunset Boulevard opening credit scene begins with the introduction of the paramount pictures logo, on a dark paved floor, with a loud, commanding brass instrument accompaniment. This is then followed by sharp, repetitive, high pitched sounds adding tension & increasing the intensity of the movement of the camera as it pans down slightly, setting the scene, showing the sunset boulevard markings on the pavement. When the Sunset Boulevard markings are being shown, the music intensifies, then as the camera continues to pan & track, the intensity is reduced, showing the street name as a focal point. The musical score is kept slightly fast paced, but becomes more mysterious as it continues to track. The music stays, consistent, but is never too repetitive, showing variation & flow as the camera does likewise, following the same road down its given path. The musical score is dark, adding some mystery, especially as the camera angle gives very little away, making the viewer anticipate what is to happen.
The street, sunset boulevard, is clearly going to be one of the focal points of the story. The way in which Wilder has framed the shot of the road as the backdrop for the titles and names of the cast & crew is clever in its own right, but i believe this is one of the things that improves the opening scene as a whole, as, unlike some other Film Noir opening credits, it gives the viewer something to watch, setting the scene whilst informing, rather than showing the minute long, empty tracking shot by itself, or the credits, with a block colour, or still backdrop (which could be equally boring for the viewer). The musical score, slowly fades from diegetic to non diegetic, as it transforms into the sirens of the police vehicles.
The typical male voice-over is used, to set the scene, as soon as the camera tilts back to a P.O.V, while the camera tracks slightly, before panning quickly to show the movement of the cars & motorbikes. The voice-over sets the scene, describing the fact that the cars, police cars & motorbikes are the 'homicide squad complete with detectives & newspaper men' - all of which are stereotypical characters of Film Noir.
The voice-over sets the location in more detail, as well as describing what sort of person it is that has been murdered - 'an old-time star is involved'. The mystery then begins, as the viewer becomes intrigued more and more as the description of who he is, is given. The voice-over gives a very intimate description of the character, describing his feelings saying 'he always wanted a pool' and calling him 'a poor dope'. This is unusual, but as the viewer will find out, the reason for this is that the voice-over is indeed the man in the pool.
The policemen are wearing typical police uniforms from the time, the newspapermen are wearing the typical trench coat & trilby hat that many Film Noir characters wear, especially the detectives. The costumes worn, as well as the use of props such as the cameras with large flash bulbs & the classic 50's cars indicates the time period in which the film is set.
The opening scene of Sunset boulevard does very little in the way of setting the scene of the storyline or the plot, but instead establishes the fundamentals of the film, laying down a nature of mystery, as soon as the film starts as well as establishing the geographics of the film. The opening scene isn't rushed, and gives away very little as to how the story will progress, or who is who. I believe this works in favour of the film, as one of the key conventions of Film Noir is the mysterious aspect of the films. This opening gives the film that. It indicates that there is 2 sides to the notoriously glamorous Hollywood, the glamorous & the crime-ridden, and that the latter will be the one portrayed in this clearly unglamorous movie.
I like the way that Wilder uses the road as a backdrop for the credits, as it is different & interesting, whilst still giving the viewers the chance to ingest the credits, and start to get into the film. I also like the way that the opening scene leaves the viewer in the middle of a mystery, before they know any detailed information about anything in the film.
I intend to use both of these concepts in my production if the storyline permits and i am not restricted in doing so by other factors.
The conventional use of logos in one of the last pages of credits at the bottom is also used (right)
Double Indemnity
As with many Film Noir openings, the production company's logo is shown, with the dramatic sound being played as the logo is on screen. The music then progresses to play as the Paramount pictures logo (in this case) fades out to reveal the credits/the action on screen.
One thing that sets this opening scene apart from the others analysed in this post is that this is the only one to use a silhouette as a backdrop for the credits. Use of silhouettes is very common in Film Noir, as it provides the same purpose as the zither in the third man, and the shot of the sunset boulevard road, showing movement, and giving a subtle description of what's to come/the narrative, without requiring so much attention that your concentration is taken away from the credits. In this case, the silhouette is of a man on 50's style crutches, walking towards the camera, becoming more prominent as the music becomes more intense & dark, giving the the audience an indication that this character may be powerful, and may have a dark nature. The use of a silhouette, combined with the action of the silhouette seemingly getting bigger as he walks towards the camera and the increased intensity of the music, urges the audience to ask themselves questions about the character, causing mystery. This is also known as the enigma code.
You can tell that it is a silhouette of a man because of the common trilby hat worn in a large amount of Film Noir movies, and especially during the time that this film was released.
The musical score that accompanies the opening credits is typically orchestral, which fits well with the silhouette walking towards the camera, as it is thrilling, and as the intensity increases it gives the reader a feeling of 'impending doom', darkness & mystery. It also gives an indication about what the character may be like.
The credit styles are quite generic in terms of Film Noir movies, as a large, plain bold font is used, with a shadow behind to give it a 3d effect. The typical ellipses are used to distinguish roles, from the name of the person who controlled that role. The more important the role in the film, the larger the font is; for example, the director has a larger font, and has a credit frame to himself, whereas the costume designer, and other such roles are all in one frame, with smaller fonts. A cross fade transition is used.
The Third Man
The above clip shows the opening credits, and a snippet of the opening scene of 'The Third Man' by Carol Reed. The credits are automatically recognisable as being unorthodox in comparison to other Noir movie openings, simply due to the use of the instrument as a back drop for the duration of the credits.
As the credits begin, the picture of a zither fades in from a black background. The music then begins to fade in, quite quickly. This is not out of the ordinary for many Noir films, however; the fact that the zither's strings vibrate, as if that zither is the one being played in order to generate the music. This could have been animated, but due to the fact the film was created in 1949, it is likely that it was filmed, this may be why only a section of the instrument is in frame. The zither continues to be played (or so it seems) throughout the entirety of the opening credits.
The music used throughout the opening credits is very lighthearted and comical. This is unconventional, as Film Noir movies tend to be dark, mysterious & full of mystery, so the music tends to fit the same concept, usually sounding very orchestral. The music used here, like many Film Noir movies is frantic, although it doesn't have any mystery/darkness to it, and isn't thrilling like music used in many other Noir films. The music used may set up the audience for the fact that the film may be comical, or may have comical aspects. This however may not be the case, as one of the noticeable things about the sound given off by the zither, and especially in this scene, is that it does not convey a particular mood. When listening to the entirety of the musical score, you can never be certain what sort of mood/feeling the song is trying to convey to the audience, this causes a mystery in itself, however different it may be to common Noir mystery.
The style of credits used are quite simplistic. The titles simply fade in, then cross fade, as the titles change. The simplistic nature of the credits allows you to take not of the movement of the zither, and take in the catchy tune, as well as reading the credits themselves. Just like Sunset Boulevard, the credits are shown in front of a movement of some sort.
As the credits end, the zither fades, as the music begins to do the same, showing an establishing shot of Vienna. A voice-over then describes how he 'never knew the old Vienna before the war' - describing that the film is shot in a post war Vienna. He then goes on to describe, in first person, his dealings in the black market, establishing to the audience, who/what sort of person he is. This is being spoken over shots of items being traded illegally, giving a visual representation to the audience in order to aid their understanding & progress the narrative.
The choice of Vienna as a setting, is quite typical, as many Film Noir movies choose post war urban environments that have were strongly affected by the war itself. They do this because it is an easy way to attract the audience into the narrative, as the director could play on the downbeat feelings the war had left the audience with at the time.
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